Why 2018 will be a watershed year for esports

They say you should follow the money, and investment dollars for esports is rapidly gaining momentum.

The esports industry is transitioning from an interesting experiment, from a sideshow – “You’re investing in what? Video games?” – to a freight train headed towards mainstream acceptance and mainstream dollars.

Sporting title esports, such as FIFA and NBA 2K, are still lagging behind traditional esports titles like League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients and Counter-Strike.

Adding to the pile-on of esports investment, the NFL recently advertised for a league office-level esports expert on their team.

With so many leagues establishing themselves in 2018 the intriguing dance will be where the broadcast deals come from, with Twitch being the convenient partner.

For these leagues it is convenient that Twitch has Amazon money and should be interested in shelling out for a world-class content.

Esports as an on-screen spectacle, especially on Twitch’s platform, is favourable to advertisers, with a measurable hyper-targeted audience and excellent on-screen marketing capabilities.

EA Sports’s FIFA football in conjunction with the respective professional football Leagues around the world are ramping up their esports efforts, announcing two partnerships in the last three weeks, with Australia’s A-League announcing a nine-week league and a tournament-style finals.

EA Sports FIFA is a great on-screen product and easy for the lay-person to understand, positioning itself for crossover appeal between sports fans esports fans.

(AFP Photo / Files / Michael Buholzer)

The NBA in partnership with 2K Games and parent company Take Two Interactive have spawned the NBA 2K League, where 17 of the 30 NBA franchises are competing in league-style play. Players will live and practice in shared housing and compete online for a spot in the player draft, where they could be offered competitive salaries.

The NBA have adopted a build-it-and-they-will-come approach with the 2K League. NBA 2K routinely ranks on the lower end of the concurrent viewer metric on Twitch.

The secret to the NBA 2K League’s success will come from leveraging the NBA’s brand appeal and marketing prowess, and with the sport’s popularity and revenue being at an all-time high there’s no reason the 2K League can’t capture those crossover fans who have a casual interest in esports.

All of the 2K League’s teams are named after their respective NBA franchises, which ensures each team is instantly recognisable to fans.

Now if only a developer could make a competent rugby union game or an engaging cricket title.

Part of the allure of esports is being able to engage with the on-screen product. Viewers cannot only play the games they watch, but some games allow viewers to collect rewards in the game. Viewers can interact in the chat box while the stream is taking place, or they can donate money to their favourite streamers in return for a shout-out, increasing that connection the viewer feels to the content or streamer.